Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "Faith, Hope & Trick" Review (3x03)

Brief Synopsis: "A new Slayer arrives in town. Faith, who was called after Kendra died, seems like a fun-loving, happy teenager who fits right in with the Scooby Gang. Buffy worries that Faith may be taking her place in her friends’ hearts and then begins to suspect that the new Slayer may be hiding something.”

"Dead Man's Party" (3x02) quick link here                                                                 "Beauty And The Beasts" (3x04) quick link here


Two quick notes before we get started...

1)    I will be reviewing the episodes in bullet point form. This is because it makes the reviews simple to read, and helps break up the text.
2)    If you are watching the show for the first time along with these reviews, please be warned that there may be a few spoilers for things that haven’t happened yet.

With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?



•    Much like the episode title suggests, “Faith, Hope & Trick” revolves around the introduction of three new characters...
 
  
Faith

Kendra’s death in “Becoming Part One” activated a new Slayer, Faith Lehane. I’ve got to be honest, I completely forgot about Kendra’s death when I first watched this episode in 1999. So imagine my surprise and yelps of excitement (like an excitable puppy) when Faith reveals that she’s the new Slayer! Personally, I slightly prefer Faith to Buffy. Not during season three, but by the time “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” draws to a close, I find myself more attached to Faith than Buffy. Perhaps it’s because I dislike some of Buffy’s character traits and developments after she’s resurrected in the season six opener, “Bargaining”. That’s a story for another day, however. The point is that I’m on ‘Team Faith’, so I’m very excited for her to be a part of the reviews now.


Mr. Trick

Do my eyes detect a black man in Sunnydale? Off the top of my head I can only think of two black people who’ve been on the show thus far: Absalom (from season two’s “When She Was Bad”) and Mr. Trick. Therefore, Mr. Trick is the very first recurring black character on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”! I can’t believe it took more than two seasons for that to happen! Definitely the ‘Caucasian persuasion’ in Sunnydale, as Mr. Trick himself would say. In this episode, Mr. Trick acts as a lacky for Kakistos, the episode’s ‘villain-of-the-week’. However, by the end of the episode Kakistos will have heartburn, whereas Mr. Trick will move on to bigger and better things with The Mayor. Plus, Mr. Trick wears a suit. He is the Barney Stinson of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, and he is fabulous.

Going off on a random tangent (but not too random), I met K. Todd Freeman (the actor behind Mr. Trick) at ‘Hallowhedon 5’ in October 2013. K. Todd was an absolutely wonderful man. Myself and Robyn (my wonderful girlfriend) spent a lot of time talking to him over the weekend of ‘Hallowhedon 5’, and he came across as very humble, down-to-Earth, charming, and hilarious. Full details of my conversations with K. Todd, as well as a very detailed review of ‘Hallowhedon 5’ (21 A4 pages), are available here - http://shangelsreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/hallowhedon-5-thefan-experience.html It also includes details, trivia, and conversation recaps with Alexis Denisof, Tom Lenk, Jane Espenson, Jeff Ricketts, Sarah Hagan, and more!


Scott Hope

If you exclude Parker from the equation (as Buffy doesn’t technically date him – she just has sex with him), Scott Hope is easily the most bland, boring character that Buffy ever dates. The problem I have with Scott is that he doesn’t naturally fit into the story. It comes across that Scott was created to be nothing more than a convenient distraction and obstacle for Buffy after Angel returns at the end of this episode. Why is Buffy dating him at all? It’s unrealistic to me. She’s clearly still having issues with Angel’s death, she barely knows Scott, and she’s obviously not in a dating mood. Season three is my favourite season. The only criticism I have of it is that some of the romantic pairings seem forced and out of character. Buffy and Scott’s relationship and the Willow-Xander affair immediately spring to mind.

In addition to not really fitting into the story, Scott Hope is also not memorable in the least. He doesn’t leave a lasting impression on the show at all. After he disappears in “Homecoming”, I never once think “I really miss Scott Hope. I wish he’d show up again before the Scoobies graduate.” This isn’t a slight at Fab Filippo, who is a very competent actor. It’s the character itself that isn’t well written or fleshed out.


•    The episode opens with a very anxious Willow at the prospect of leaving school grounds while school is still in session. An episode instantly gets 20% better if Willow has a spazz attack in it.
•    Willow: “Or to do that thing with your mouth that boys like. Oh! I didn’t mean that bad thing with your mouth, I meant that little half smile thing that you…you’re supposed to stop me when I do that.”
      Oz: “I like when you do that.”

Reason number #1231 why Willow’s cheating on Oz is stupid: he’s the best boyfriend ever.

•    Buffy is still feeling really guilty at being a part of Angel losing his soul and sending him to Hell. You need to look no further than Buffy’s dream to notice this. In Buffy’s dream, Angel is angry that Buffy sent him to Hell. He screams at her, “Go to Hell!...I did.” This makes Buffy’s dating Scott at the end of the episode much more confusing. Is she dating Scott to try and move on from her Angel guilt? That doesn’t seem particularly fair on Scott.
•    Joyce: “I think what my daughter’s trying to say is na-na-na-na-na.”

Joyce is the world’s best mother in that scene. She’s supportive of Buffy, regardless of whatever part Buffy played in her expulsion. She’s started to accept her daughter’s responsibilities and struggles, and she seems proud of Buffy.

•    Willow: “Have you ever noticed, though, when he is mad, but he’s too English to say anything, he makes that weird cluck-cluck sound with his tongue?”
-----
Willow: “Are you mad at me?”
Giles: “No, of course not, no. If I were, I’d be making a strange clucking sound with my tongue.”

•    I mentioned earlier that I prefer Faith to Buffy. I’m going to take that one step further and say that Faith is one of my very favourite characters in the ‘Buffyverse’. I adore her. Her journey throughout the next 5 years is absolutely wonderful and eye-opening. From loner, to murderer, to insane, to a coma, to falling apart, to redemption, to becoming a hero, Faith’s character arc is just a joy to watch unfold.
•    Speaking of Faith, look how young Eliza Dushku is here! D’awwwwww! I believe she’s eighteen years old in this episode.
•    Show up, stake vampire, walk off casually...gotta love Faith. She has such a laidback attitude to slaying. It’s a completely different approach than Buffy takes. That’s one of the reasons why I adore their relationship; they’re polar opposites of each other. Faith is the yin to Buffy’s yang.
•    Xander has a crush on the new Slayer? Shocking.
•    Buffy mentions that The Three are her toughest kill (other than Angel). It’s a great little call-back to season one. For those of you who’ve forgotten, The Three appeared in the season one episode, “Angel”. They tried to kill Buffy, Angel helped her escape, and Darla killed all three of them for failing in their duty. I severely question Buffy’s choice of The Three being her toughest opponents ever. What about The Master? The Judge? There have been numerous demons and vampires that have caused her much bigger problems. THE MASTER KILLED HER! I digress...
•    Faith remarking to Buffy that it’s funny that slaying makes you hungry and horny is hilarious. Why? Because it turns out to be true for Buffy as well. Buffy and Riley’s shagathon in “The I In Team” and some of Buffy’s naughty exploits with Spike in season six are evidence of this.
•    I cannot contain my joy at the Watcher’s retreat taking place in the Cotswolds of England every year. I live in the Cotswolds! The Watchers retreat where I live! I’ve still yet to come across a field filled with Watchers discussing beheading tactics and the insolence of the Slayer in Sunnydale though. Why wasn’t Giles invited to the Watcher’s retreat? He seems to be well-respected by the council and he’s doing a great job with Buffy, so why did they exclude him? Is it because they feel he’s become too American? Gwendolyn Post says this in “Revelations”, but she was fired from the Watcher’s Council before that so she could have been lying.
•    I like Faith’s tattoo. It’s so obviously a press-on, and not really Eliza’s tattoo, but I like it nonetheless. This was 1998, back before tattoos were so popular, so I think it symbolised that Faith was rebellious and a badass. She’s got that ‘bad girl’ attitude that a lot of female punks in the ‘90s had.
•    Eliza just can’t get rid of her Boston accent for “about”, can she? It makes for a funny moment in season four when Faith is in Buffy’s body, and Sarah Michelle Gellar says ‘a-boot’, as that’s how Faith/Eliza Dushku would say it.
•    Cordelia: “What is it with you and Slayers?! Maybe I should dress up as one and put a stake to your throat.”
Xander: “Oh God, please don’t let that be sarcasm.”

A little more than I needed to know about Xander and Cordelia’s out of school activities, if I’m honest. If you’re not going to show us it, don’t tease us with the mental image.

•    Kakistos is one of my favourite one-episode villains for Buffy’s third season. I wish he’d have stuck around for a few episodes more. He had a memorable look, with his cloven hands and massive facial scar, and he was very old. He could have made a great recurring villain for the first half of season three, while The Mayor was waiting to start his ascension. Plus, his voice was terrific. I’m glad they brought him back for the ‘Chaos Bleeds’ video game (they also brought back Sid the dummy from “The Puppet Show”). If you’ve never played ‘Chaos Bleeds’, I would strongly advise you to give it a go. It’s a terrific game.
•    I completely understand Buffy’s jealousy regarding Faith. She’s only been back from L.A. a couple of weeks and now a new Slayer has arrived and is making Buffy share her life (her friends, slaying, her Watcher, her mother, etc.). Not only does Buffy feel like Faith is stealing a section of her life, but Faith’s personality and attitude represents a lot of things that Buffy wishes she could be more like. Faith is easygoing, relaxed, carefree, appears to love life, and has limited responsibility. On the other hand, Buffy is struggling to get back into school, she’s had a really rough few months, and she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Of course, by the end of this episode we learn that appearances can be deceiving because Faith is putting on a happy face, but is secretly terrified. Her Watcher was murdered in front of her and Kakistos is tracking her. I know I probably shouldn’t want to know, but I’m curious as to how Faith’s Watcher was actually killed.
•    It took me about 5 years to find out what “five by five” actually means. In essence, it’s a military term that means “I can hear you loud and clear”, which eventually also became used to mean “I’m okay”.
•    I love how differently they make Buffy and Faith dress throughout the show. Their appearances match their personalities. Faith is the much darker, edgier character and it shows in her wardrobe. She wears a lot of black clothing, a lot of make-up, and dark colours. She’s a more in-your-face character that likes to be remembered. Her choice of clothing helps her to stand out. Buffy dresses more colourful and ‘normal’. Perhaps this is because Buffy has always been desperate to fit in and have a ‘normal’ life. It’s a way for her to blend into the crowd. These two characters with a shared destiny (the only people in the world with that destiny) couldn’t be more different.
•    Buffy: “Kissing toast. He lived for kissing toast.”
     Giles: “Do you mean Kakistos?”
     Buffy: “Or maybe it was tacitos. Maybe he lived for tacitos. What?”
     Giles: “Kakistos.”

•    Adding to my ‘Scott Hope doesn’t fit into the story and is nothing more than a complication for Buffy and Angel’ theory, what are the chances that Scott Hope would buy Buffy a Claddagh ring a matter of days after he met her! The exact same thing that Angel bought Buffy for her 17th birthday?! Ugh.
•    Eliza’s acting was really good in this episode. She captured the essence of Faith right from the first scene she was in. She has to play so many different emotions in this episode, and she does a fantastic job of all of them. "No, this is his place.”, and her speech explaining what happened to her Watcher are particular highlights.
•    Kakistos’ death was spectacular. A regular stake couldn’t do it, but the massive wooden pole through the chest could. Who said size doesn’t matter? Definitely one of the more memorable deaths this season. It’s reminiscent of the demon’s death in “Gingerbread” later in the season (wooden pole through the throat).

•    Giles knew Buffy well enough to know that Angel’s death wasn’t all that was affecting her. He created a fake spell to get Buffy to open up about what else happened. I think Giles had suspected that Willow’s spell was successful in restoring Angel’s soul ever since Buffy ran away after the fight at the mansion. Nobody else knew. Not Willow, not Xander, not Joyce, just Giles. It’s a testament to both Giles’ intelligence and how close he is to Buffy that he was able to figure it out. I also think that Alyson does a terrific job in the reveal scene. The look of horror and guilt on Willow’s face at what she had done was spectacular. A very similar scene happens in “Once More With Feeling”, when Buffy reveals to the Scoobies that they tore her out of Heaven. Yet again, Alyson’s facial expressions are some of the best I’ve seen in my life.
•    Why does the Buffy-Angel love theme only plays during sad scenes?! I’m surprised I haven’t developed a complex where I burst into tears every time I hear it.
•    By the end of this episode, Buffy has decided that she can’t hold onto the past anymore and that she needs to move on. It took her 5 months to realise that she has to at least try to move on from killing Angel. While I still think the Scott Hope aspect of this episode is out of place, I can appreciate the fact that the show is making a point of emphasising that Buffy is trying to accept everything that happened. Of course, this is the Buffyverse, so the second Buffy finds some inner peace, Angel returns...naked. Someone get him a towel or something.


Quote Of The Episode

Buffy: “Maybe I should introduce you again. Faith, this is Giles.”

Faith: “I’ve seen him. If I’d have known that they come that young and cute, I’d have requested a transfer.”

Buffy: “Raise your hand if ‘eww’...”

*Xander slyly raises his hand*

Giles: “Well, leaving aside for a moment my youth and beauty...”


You just know that Giles went home that night, looked at himself in the mirror, and said “you’ve still got it, Ripper”, then gave himself a cheeky wink. 
 

FINAL SCORE: 7/10

So what are your thoughts on "Faith, Hope & Trick"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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